Worker killed at Samples mountaintop removal mine
Word came in a while ago that a worker has been killed at the huge Samples Mine. Now owned by Patriot Coal, the operation is all the way up Cabin Creek hollow, but the mining actually crosses into several counties where Kanawha, Boone and Raleigh counties meet.
The Associated Press sent out this little brief, which mostly matches the information provided to me by Jama Jarrett, spokeswoman for the state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training. Though Jama has not yet confirmed the death.
Here’s what AP reported:
ORGAS, W.Va. (AP) — Emergency officials in Boone County say a worker at a coal mine has been killed in an accident.
A Boone County 911 operator says the fatality was reported at 10:05 a.m. Tuesday. State mine safety office spokeswoman Jama (Jay-muh) Jarrett says an excavator rolled into a pond at Catenary Coal’s Samples mine.
Jarrett had no further information and the worker’s name wasn’t immediately released.
Catenary is a subsidiary of St. Louis-based Patriot Coal, which has operations in West Virginia and Kentucky.
A Patriot Coal spokeswoman didn’t immediately return a telephone message Tuesday.
I’m trying to get more details from Jama and from the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, and we’ll have a more complete report in tomorrow’s Gazette.
The Samples Mine is a non-union operation and is consistently among the top producing surface mines in West Virginia, though production dropped off last year, from more than 3 million tons a year to about 2.4 million tons, according to federal data.
Parts of this operation were shut down two years ago, and then cited for dozens of serious safety violations, in a bizarre explosives accident. Inspectors discovered the mine operator and contractors were improperly using explosives from the old Talon Manufacturing to boost their standard strip-mine blasting methods as part of a U.S. Army plan to dispose of old munitions from Talon.
Also, there have been at least three other mining-related deaths at the Samples Mine since 2001. Here’s a rundown of those:
– Nov. 1, 2001 — Gary Wayne Moore, a 25-year-old truck driver, had started his shift at about 4:30 p.m. and made one round trip from the mine to the coal-dumping facility. He parked and exited his truck, walked around to the passenger side and positioned himself between the tractor and trailer, directly in front of the tractor’s rear tires. The truck drifted forward about 20 feet down a 9.4% grade, and struck the rear of the next truck parked in line. Moore was crushed by the tractor tires.
The MSHA report on Moore’s death concluded:
The accident was caused by failure to set the vehicle parking brake, block the truck against movement, inadequate task training, and air leaks on the truck. The trailer service side air supply hose was found disconnected. Disconnecting this hose would cause the brakes to release. An air leak was found in the service side air supply hose glad hand connection and the trailer dump gate valve.
But, MSHA investigators also found problems with the truck’s brake system, and noted that records could not be found to show that truck drivers had received task training related to the braking systems, adding:
Several drivers interviewed during the investigation did not understand the trucks braking system and admitted to exiting their trucks without setting the parking brakes. A citation was issued for inadequate task training.
Catenary Coal paid $1,197 in fines and trucking contractor Kt Trucking paid $483.
– On Dec. 26, 2002, 48-year-old miner Dan Gray was going home after he worked all day on the dragline at the Samples Mine. He had left his cell phone in the machine’s cab, and tried to go back and get it. As it walked, the dragline’s giant mechanical foot stepped on him. Co-workers didn’t notice his body until 8 1/2 hours later.
MSHA’s report concluded:
The root causes of the accident were the failure of management to enforce its policy governing boarding and leaving the dragline, management’s failure to provide alternatives for communication for all persons approaching the dragline from the parking area, the opportunity for persons to board or leave the dragline without the knowledge of the operator, and the accessibility of the buzzer controls to persons standing on the ground within the swing radius of the machine.
Catenary paid $20,060 in fines.
– On Dec. 2, 2004, 44-year-old contract employee William S. Woods was using a chain saw to cut a standing tree which contained a “hanger tree,” which had fallen and become lodged into the standing tree. Woods cut the standing tree and the hanger tree fell on him, crushing him.
The accident occurred because the danger tree, which was observed by the foreman, was neither marked nor taken down to assure that the other tree cutters would not expose themselves to the hazardous condition. Neither was the hazardous condition reported to the operator nor corrected. The failure to confirm communication concerning the danger tree between the foreman and the victim was also a factor in the accident.
The logging contract firm, Mountaintop Clearing LLC, paid $217 in fines.
14 comments
[…] You can read more about the accident and probably receive updates at Ken Ward’s blog: http://blogs.wvgazette.com/coaltattoo/2009/07/28/worker-killed-at-samples-mountaintop-removal-mine/#… […]
ken ward jr., just how many miners were killed and how many contractors responsible for their own were killed?you like to bring this to smear a mine,but the last time i checked,trucking companies trained their own personel.all the mine is instructed to do is hazard train the driver to know what channels to run,what are the do’s and don’ts,and what happens to you when you don’t follow their rules and regulations.it is the trucking company’s responsibility to make sure all equipment on their truck are working properly.when you go blaming someone to the incident over the trucks ,please, put the blame where it lies.
Randy,
This accident involved an excavator, not a truck.
Either way, it goes to show that mountaintop removal can be just as dangerous to the workers as deep mining.
I’m surprised that that was the one you questioned, Randy. I worked with Walt Kincaid once, and anyone who’s spent 10 minutes with him and still lets him past the guard shack needs their head examined. In short, Catenary is very much responsible for vetting their contractors.
I thought it was the 2nd one that was unwarranted. Approaching a drag line without talking to the operator is about as reckless as it gets. They have 2 way radios and CB’s, and it only required a little effort to contact him. Gray took an unnecessary risk and it ended badly.
It’s odd that the incident in which the company had the least control over had the highest fine.
you misunderstood brad,i was referring to the nov1,2001 incident.why this was brought into this is beyond me,other than a smear campaign by ken ward.and even if they’re responsible area man,it is first and foremost the parent company that owns the trucks to insure their own drivers safety.now if a mining inspector had been there who would’ve recieved the fine for that truck.not cantenary coal as implied by ken ward.i’ve been in that position,i know where the main blame lies.
I have heard over and over again how much more safe surface or MTR mines are compared to deep mines. I would like to know the comparison of deep mine coal deaths to surface mine deaths this year.
Ken, someone just lost their life. Someone’s brother, father, cousin, friend just past away. You turn it into another one of your crusades. This is appalling, you should be ashamed. My thoughts and prayers go to the family and all those that grieve. Rest in peace.
This is a sad day in America. Whenever a guy has lost his life and the media is exploiting the accident to try to persuade their readers to feel the same way they do. Why not try to report the news sometimes and quit reporting your opinions of the news.
I did think it was funny that when you read the headlines you have to mention that Samples Mine is a mountaintop removal mine. I just want to inform you that there are 2 underground mines on the property also, one active and one inactive.
And, if you want to see the facts about injuries/deaths at a coal mine, you need to read the statistics for more than the past 8 or ten years. Afterall, when you mention climate change, you go all the way back to whenever, whoever says the recordings started. Always have to make everything seem “Gloom and Doom”. No wander America is losing it’s faith in the media and their leaders.
“I just want to inform you that there are 2 underground mines on the property also, one active and one inactive.”
You think if he’d died at one of those the story wouldn’t have said that he died at an underground mine?
Who said that MTR’s are as dangerous as underground mines?
All,
A response to a few of the comments on this post …
Regarding Brad’s comment that this involved an excavator, not a truck … there are conflicting reports about that. The state indicated it was an excavator, but MSHA described the vehicle as an articulated truck. I explained these conflicting reports in our print and online story, available here:
http://wvgazette.com/News/200907280373
As for Randy Clements remarks, if he would take the time to read the fatality reports I linked to, he would see that in each of those previous deaths at the Samples Mine, MSHA cited the MINE OPERATOR, not just the contractor. Under state and federal law, the ultimate responsibility for the safety and health of everyone at the site is the MINE OPERATOR’S.
So, this has nothing to do with me smearing anybody … I’m just reporting the results of MSHA investigations at this particular mine. If the mine operator doesn’t want me reporting on workers being killed at the operation, all they’ve got to do is operate a safe mine.
Nanette, the numbers you ask about are available here:
http://www.msha.gov/fatals/fabc2009.asp. They indicate that of 9 coal mining deaths so far in 2009, six occurred at surface mines, one at a surface facility and two at underground mines.
But nationwide last year, the fatality rate at surface mines was something like half that of underground mines. The non-fatal injury rate was surface mines was also significantly better than at underground mines. Those figures are available here:
http://www.msha.gov/Stats/Part50/WQ/MasterFiles/MIWQ%20Master_20085.pdf
Andrew, I appreciate your concerns for the family. But my job is to report the news, and I happen to believe that it is news when workers are killed on the job. But I also try harder than most in the media to respect the families of miners who have been killed … I don’t go calling them up or knocking on their doors for comments, unless they’ve made it clear they want to talk with me or other reporters.
I’m sorry you feel I’ve done something wrong here, but I have to disagree. I’m very proud of the Gazette’s coverage of mine safety, and I’ll continue to try to report on the issue. At the same time, my thoughts and prayers also go out to the family of this particular worker.
Ken.
Area man, it doesn’t have to be said that surface mines are as dangerous as underground if it is implied. The regular public believes whatever they read/hear. On average, more people are hurt in underground mines, that’s just common knowledge. It’s just that surface mines are the topic of interest lately, so they are easy to pick on.
ken ward jr, there was entirely no reason that you reported these other death.your smear campaign is clearly evident.you say “if they did want you to report those death,all they have to do is operate a safe mine” thing is,what was your point in reporting it?people in other job occupation have lost there lives and i don’t see them listed.all i say is if you going to report a man’s death,don’t use it as did.you used it to make samples look bad ,but if these are the only deaths in that length of time , then they do not have as bad of safety record as you are trying to point out.based on other mines,that is.
i ,did in fact, read the entire article and apparently i was not the only one who saw though this.
All,
Some more updated information from the state Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training … Spokeswoman Jama Jarrett confirms that the accident involved a truck, not an excavator.
Also, the man who died was Mark Gray. He was 28 and lived in Belle, W.Va. He is survived by a wife and teenage daughter.
My condolences to his family.
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